Roberts continues the story of Hannibal's Children (2002), in which Hannibal conquered Rome, and the banished Romans retreated to the Danube, conquered those living along it, and built a Rome in exile. In this book, Rome has reconquered Italy and is resettling it to be as it was before the Carthaginians came. But even as the Romans rebuild, intramural political conflicts generate brawls in the newly restored Curia. One of the most serious conflicts is between the old families, whose ancestors were banished from Rome, and the "New Men" descended from Gauls and Germans who threw their lot in with Roma Noricum. As new war with Carthage looms, four legions are in Egypt, cut off from direct return to Italy; their commander, New Man Titus Norbanus, has some very untraditional ideas about what can be done. Mastering the details of later republican Roman life, Roberts builds a very convincing alternate Rome, full of intriguing characters who pose readers the fun of figuring out their real-life counterparts.